I made a delicious Lemon-Vanilla Dream Cake for the shower we hosted for our daughter's welcome to motherhood shower.

Many friends asked for the recipe, so here it is!

VANILLA DREAM CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 vanilla bean, scraped

2 large eggs

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8 inch round cake pans. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine water and sugar. Bring to a simmer and stir until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and add butter, stirring until melted.Let cool completely (about 20 minutes in the freezer) and then whisk in vegetable oil, vanilla extract and the scrapings from the vanilla bean. Beat in eggs. Whisk in dry ingredients, until smooth.Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.Let cakes cool in pans until cool to the touch, add lemon curd between layers - then frost.

Lemon Curd:

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced

3/4 cup granulated sugar

5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 large egg yolks

1 large egg

Place butter in heat safe bowl - set aside. Whisk together the granulated sugar, fresh lemon juice, egg yolks, and egg in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling. Cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon 6-8 minutes. Remove curd from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve over the bowl containing the butter. Stir to combine. Cover with a plastic wrap, pressing directly on the curd surface. Refrigerate until set at least four hours or overnight.

Lemon Frosting:

1 1/2 cups butter

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

6 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tbsp milk

2 Tbsp lemon juice

4 tsp grated lemon peel

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.Increase speed to medium and add milk and lemon juice. Beat until blended. Add 4 tablespoons grated lemon peel and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of milk.

To assemble: Assemble the 3 layers with a thick layer of lemon curd in between the layers. Then apply a thin crumb coat of frosting on the top and sides. Pop the cake into the freezer to harden the crumb coat for about 10 minutes. Apply one final thick and even layer around the outside of the cake. Store in the fridge if not serving within the next couple of hours. Let cake come to room temperature before serving (let cake sit on counter for about 30 minutes before serving to warm up!).

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